Define CI/CD Pipeline

Objective

Choose CI platform, define pipeline stages, configure artifact registry, set promotion gates, and establish trunk-based development flow.

Decisions to Make

1. CI Platform

Choose one:
- GitHub Actions — GitHub-native, YAML workflows. Best for: GitHub-hosted repos.
- GitLab CI — GitLab-native, .gitlab-ci.yml. Best for: GitLab-hosted repos.
- Jenkins — Self-hosted, Groovy pipelines. Best for: complex custom pipelines.
- CircleCI — Cloud-hosted, YAML config. Best for: fast builds, Docker-native.
- None — Local-only builds. Best for: desktop apps, early prototypes.

2. Pipeline Stages

Define the standard pipeline stages:

lint → test → build → publish → deploy

For each stage:
- What runs? (commands, scripts)
- What triggers it? (push, PR, tag, manual)
- What blocks the next stage? (failure criteria)
- Estimated duration target

3. Artifact Registry

• Container images: Docker Hub, ECR, GCR, GitHub Container Registry
• Packages: npm registry, PyPI, private registry
• Build artifacts: S3, GCS, artifact storage in CI platform
• Retention policy: How long are artifacts kept?

4. Promotion Gates

• Automated gates: All tests pass, linting clean, security scan clean
• Manual gates: Human approval for production deploy
• Environment promotion: dev → staging → production
• Rollback trigger: Automated on health check failure? Manual only?

5. Trunk-Based Development Flow

• Branch strategy: Trunk-based (short-lived feature branches, merge to main)
• PR requirements: Reviews, CI pass, no conflicts
• Merge strategy: Squash, rebase, merge commit
• Release tagging: Semantic versioning, automated changelog

6. Scan Skills

Query Playbook Skills where capability_domain in:
- CICD_BUILD
- CICD_DEPLOY
- CICD_PIPELINE

Report coverage and gaps.

Deliverables

• ✅ CI platform chosen
• ✅ Pipeline stages defined with triggers and gates
• ✅ Artifact registry configured
• ✅ Promotion gates established
• ✅ Trunk-based flow documented
• ✅ Skill coverage assessed for this domain
• ✅ Decision recorded for inclusion in SAO.md (DTA-18)